My mirage drive punched and split a good size hole forward in the mirage well. Looks like a thin weak spot up there. Any ideas on repair? It's out of warranty, things been sitting in my garage for 10 years and been out in it about 5 times until I moved to lake property. So now i am fishing out of it almost every night and saturday mornings. Anyway it's an old original outback, plastic is not dried out or brittle it's been well taken care of. It's just paper thin in the mirage well and splitting apart.

How is the plastic surrounding the thin spot? If there is no more warranty, then I'd try to do some plastic welding to patch the hole. I believe you can contact Hobie for scrap plastic you'd be able to use for patching...

How is the plastic surrounding the thin spot? If there is no more warranty, then I'd try to do some plastic welding to patch the hole. I believe you can contact Hobie for scrap plastic you'd be able to use for patching...

Thanks. I ordered a plastic weld kit. I think I can build it up. I can tell its thin when I run a light inside the yak and can see the light through the plastic in the mirage well in a couple spots. Most of the yak I can't see it. I would have to cut out a piece to get an exact measurement. And since there isn't going to be a warranty on a 10+ year old yak, I am not going to destroy it cutting it up.

Forget about patching that area , it's hopeless if underwater. Hobie knows very well that older Outbacks had a major problem in that area and since you barely used it and it's been sitting in the garage so long i would contact them in hopes deal can be made for a new hull.

They are usually very good about it and it was a big problem so you have a great chance. If i bought an Outback back then and barely got to use it and broke it out ten years later to only have a known defect render it useless i would be steamed.

Welding does work. We are a bit shy about doing repairs to boats within warranty, so opt for replacements. Even when several years out of the coverage. But, 10 years is outside any possible warranty coverage I'm afraid.

Get yourself a block of duct seal, Home Depot electrical department, clean the spot, heat it just a bit, and slam a large blob of the seal into the spot. Push it hard so its in good contact with the hull. I had a crack and got sick of sponging, wringing, scooping out water, gave it a try, works. I was fortunate with the warranty but the duct seal was a great stop gap.

Thanks for the ideas. I used about every weld sick in the kit inside the hull then used the correct color up top. Got lucky, the front of the drive well got really hot and it was mold able with a glove on. Came out really good and no leak. Filled it full of water and no drip. Going fishing in a few minutes, will see if it can hold.

I have a VERY old Outback demo that I got dirt cheap about three years ago... found out why later... leaked like a sieve in that exact spot. I know everyone is gonna scream, posted this before, and they did.... but I have a heat gun with a very small tip.... I got 4-5 of the weld strips from my dealer, scraped a pretty good "V" in the crack, cleaned it good with acetone... I mean FLOOD it... let it dry and started heating. I got it VERY hot so surrounding plastic was mushy and I started feeding the weld strips in. Don't be bashful, mine was a hairline crack but I REALLY pushed it in..... think I used about 4 strips... Before it cooled, I reshaped it with my finger dipped in water... things been holding every since. Might go out tomorrow, but I got my $400 out of the kayak over last 3 years.....

HOW TO REPAIR A CRACK IN THE HOBIE MIRAGE DRIVE WELLI have successfully repaired a crack in the forward part of the mirage drive well that went from the bottom of the kayak up into the front wall of the mirage drive well. It took several tries but I finally got it to stop leaking and it has been working fine for years now. Here is how I did it.Equipment needed: A plastic welder, the one from Harbor freight works just fine. A piece of stainless steel screening (the harbor freight hot knife has some stainless steel screening included with the Harbor freight welder.. Some extra plastic pieces of the same kind and color as your kayak (color really does not matter). Do not use the plastic that comes with the Harbor Freight plastic welder. It is not the proper type. Tamarron Technologies Tam Tech Adhesive plus the special dispenser and mixing nozzle. Here is the link to it: This stuff is great!!! http://www.tamarrontechnology.biz/store/adhesives.htmlRepair Procedure: Plug in the plastic welder and let it get good and hot, about 5 minutes. Clean area around the entire crack using alcohol or acetone. Using the side edge of the plastic welder press it down into the crack to melt the sides of the crack together to seal it. Cut a piece of the stainless steel screen wider and longer than the crack by at least 1/4 inch or more if room allows it. Fit the screen to go from the bottom of the kayak and around the bend into the inside wall area of the mirage drive well where the crack is. Try to shape the screen so it fits into the area snugly. This is where having some extra plastic of the same kind the kayak is made from come in very handy. If you do not have any extra plastic it will probably still work. With the stainless steel screen patch in place use the plastic welder to melt the screen into the plastic of the kayak. This takes time and patience. Hold the flat part of the welder directly on the screen and as the plastic melts apply enough pressure so that the screen goes into the plastic. Move the welder to melt the entire piece of screen into the kayak. This will not look good but beauty is not our goal here. It will take several attempts to get the plastic screen embedded into the kayak. Make sure the screen is more or less totally inside the plastic. Let it cool for a few minutes. Mix a sufficient amount of the Tamarron Tech glue to entirely cost the area you just repaired and use enough to be sure that the entire area is coated including inside the mirage drive well where the crack was. Also put a layer of the Tamarron Tech glue on the inside of the kayak where the crack was to be sure it is sealed from the inside so no more water can seep in. You can reach this area from the front hatch. Let it all dry and cure for a couple of days and then take it for a test in your local lake. It should not leak and the bond is very strong. Sand it down on the bottom of the yak to smooth it out and make it look nicer. Be careful not to get too much glue up into the area where the mirage drive fits into the well or it might interfere with putting the mirage drive in place.That is how I successfully repaired it and it is still going strong years later. Good luck.